Messi nets earliest career goal vs. Chelsea

Lionel Messi scored the fastest goal in his career to give Barcelona an early lead over Chelsea in the Champions League on Wednesday.

The Argentine star slipped the ball through the legs of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois just two minutes and eight seconds into the game.

Messi has scored over 600 goals for club and country in his career, but he has never found the net in the opening two minutes, though he has now struck in the third minute four times in competitive games.

His previous fastest goal came in two minutes, 26 seconds, for Argentina against Nigeria at the 2014 World Cup.

He beat his record for Barcelona by 28 seconds, after scoring in 2:36 against Racing Santander in La Liga in August 2010. His previous fastest in the Champions League came in 2:46 against Celtic in 2016.

Messi also scored in the third minute against Real Madrid in the International Champions Cup in Miami last summer, though that game does not count as an official competition.

The goal against Chelsea was also the 99th of his career in the Champions League.